[emmacj]

Stuart, I almost fell over reading your post. My mum had a stroke three years ago and has had two more since. She cannot drive, & I take her to all of her appointments also. I am 21 and still live at home, but have become my mum's fulltime carer. She can feed, bathe & dress herself which is good, but she developed epilepsy as a result of the first stroke, so is very uncertain of going outside by herself, walking into the lounge, etc.

She is alright when I'm with her, that's the thing. I feel so bad for complaining, because I wouldnt NOT look after my mum. In saying that, I;ve found recently that she seems to be guilting me into things. I had a lot of sickness in my childhood, & she says to me "I was there for you when YOU were sick!". Even when I wanted to go to Uni this year, she had a panic attack & said she couldnt cope without me, so I didn't go. I feel like a prisoner some days. I havent seen any of my friends for so long, & have only just started going out for coffee with a few of them, and even then only for half an hour at a time.

Mum goes out, but she wont go without me. It's like three years ago, someone joined us at the hip. I feel like I'm going to be stuck here forever. I can't go to Uni, I can't get a job, god knows how I'm ever going to be able to move out.

I hate myself for complaining like this, because as I said, I would never not look after my mum. Sometimes I feel like I just need a little space to breathe though.